Two first-half goals handed West Brom their first win away from home in the Premier League this season as they edged out Wigan 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
James Morrison put the visitors ahead, nodding in from a corner, before their lead was doubled thanks to an own goal from Gary Caldwell.
The Latics struck back before the half was out through Arouna Kone, but failed to find a second goal as Steve Clarke's men held firm.
Unsurprisingly, Roberto Martinez picked the same Xi that impressively won 1-0 at Tottenham last weekend with Arouna Kone and Franco Di Santo, while West Brom made four changes from the side that comfortably dispatched Southampton in their last match, with goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, James Morrison, captain Chris Brunt and Romelu Lukaku all earning the trust of manager Steve Clarke.
After an early spell of Wigan pressure it was West Brom who began to slowly take control of proceedings. After Lukaku had almost made Maynor Figueroa pay for a poor clearance only to be denied by Ali Al Habsi, the Baggies finally did take the lead in the 31st minute, with Brunt’s delivery both timed and executed to perfection for Morrision to head home his third goal of a highly impressive season so far.
Within 10 minutes the lead was doubled. After previously finding the side-netting with a drifting shot that had Al Habsi beaten, West Brom right-back Billy Jones skipped into the Wigan area after being found brilliantly by Lukaku and his attempted cross was turned into his own net by Gary Caldwell. However, within seconds the deficit was halved when a drilled Jean Beausejour delivery from the left was stabbed home by Ivorian striker Arouna Kone from inside the six-yard box to give the Latics some momentum going into the second half.
Indeed, Roberto Martinez' half-time team-talk appeared to have the desired effect as Wigan came out with a sense of renewed purpose, marked by a James McCarthy shot that was pushed out by Myhill only for Beausejour to fire over the top. However, West Brom retained a threat on the counter attack with their attacking pace and almost extended their lead when a loose ball was thrashed towards goal by Lukaku only for Al Habsi to superbly tip the ball over the bar.
That chance appeared to knock the stuffing out of the home side somewhat as the Baggies proceeded to continually find holes in the Wigan half. One such moment saw Liam Ridgewell charge in dangerously from the left-back position but with several team-mates to aim for, only found the back up of the stands with an ill-advised shot.
Wigan continued to work hard and finally fashioned an opportunity to equalise with 20 minutes to play when Shaun Maloney, in acres of space inside the area, scooped his shot over the bar. An even better chance was to arrive on 80 minutes when Di Santo directed a downwards header wide of the goal.
The Argentine's miss appeared to drain all belief out of the DW Stadium and even five minutes stoppage time were not enough as West Brom comfortably held onto yet another victory to continue their impressive league form so far this season.
Source: Goal
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